November begins with the general
election on November 4. I hope everyone
who is eligible to vote will vote whether by mail as Halma and most of the
townships of Kittson County Karlstad
and Springbrook Township Hong
Kong have been demonstrating by the thousands for the simple right
to have the candidates of their choice on the ballot instead of those dictated
by the Communist Party in Beijing . Some have been severely beaten, but they
value the right to a free and fair election so much that they are willing to
take the risk.
In
America people
give many excuses for not voting. They
are too busy, or the campaign ads are too negative, or they think their vote
does not matter, or they have not taken the time to get to know the candidates
and their stance on the issues. Although
Minnesota has one of the highest
rates of voter turnout in the nation, there is still room for improvement. Minnesota
still does not match the turn out in Nordic or German speaking countries.
The
task of voting is a small price to pay for the freedom we enjoy in this
land. Getting to know the candidates and
where they stand takes a little more effort, and yes I know, it can be
difficult to wade through the campaign rhetoric and the negative ads to find
out where a candidate really stands.
Like many of you, I am not happy with some of the negative ads that have
been run against one candidate or another, often by out-of-state political
groups not officially connected to the candidate. These out-of-staters don’t seem to get “Minnesota
nice.” But reading and watching news
from a variety of sources will often lead to the truth.
In
Romans 13:7 St. Paul writes about
the government, “Pay all of them their due, revenue to whom revenue is due,
respect to who respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.” As Christian people enjoying the freedom of
this land we should show respect for those who run for office even if we
disagree with them and do not intend to vote for them, and we should honor with
our vote those with whom we do agree.
There
are days when I would like to shout at the TV or radio “The Bible says to show
respect!” But I don’t. Instead I go quietly into the voting booth
and vote for the candidates of my choice.
(no early voting, mail voting, or absentee voting for me)
November
ends with the Thanksgiving holiday on November 27. The tradition of a day dedicated to giving
thanks goes all the way back to the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock and
were helped through a terrible winter by the native Americans already
there. After enduring terrible hardship,
these profoundly religious people paused after the next year’s harvest for a
day of thanking God and their neighbors with whom they shared a feast of turkey
with all the trimmings. Thanks-giving
has been a regular national holiday since the days of President Abraham Lincoln
who, like our current president, was from Illinois
and did not belong to any Christian congregation or denomination, had a
profound sense of God’s power and providence.
The
true purpose of a day of Thanksgiving has been crowded by an emphasis on
overeating, by football games, and by shopping (ugh!). The real purpose of this holiday is to give
thanks to God for his many blessing to us as a nation and a people and to
encourage a thankful attitude. Thanksgiving
is best observed by counting our many blessings, saying a prayer to God, and
eating with our family – after saying grace, of course.
In
writing his epistles St. Paul often
said a word of thanksgiving right off the bat.
For instance in Philippians 1:3 he wrote, “I thank my God in all my
remembrance of you.” And in Philippians
4:6 he encourages us to offer up our prayers and supplications to God “with
thanksgiving.” And in Colossians 3:15 he simply says, “and be thankful.”
We
have good reasons to be thankful this year.
Despite the nation facing horrible new diseases and frightening
terrorists, we have by and large been spared the worst of these things. Although there has been a spate devastating
illnesses afflicting local people, the support and prayers of the community are
encouraging. Although the harvest has
not been quite as bountiful as some years due to the late spring and other
causes, the weather for the harvest this year has been exceptionally good. The list could go on.
But
above all else, we can give thanks to God that he is still our God, that he
loves us like a father, that he watches over us like a shepherd, and that he
provides for all our needs. As the 4th
verse of ELW hymn #764 says, “thankful hearts raise to God, thankful hearts
raise to God, for he stays close beside you, in all things works with you,
thankful hearts raise to God!”